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  The future he proposed was terrifying, but the prospect of facing the next fifty years without him was even more terrifying. “Yes,” she whispered, smiling through her tears. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”

  He roared, hauling her into his arms and spinning her in a low circle until her head was thrown back in laughter.

  As Evan slipped the three carat solitaire on her finger, he knew life didn’t get much better than this. He was getting a second chance to make up for the biggest mistake he’d ever made.

  “Perfect,” he whispered, bringing her hand to his lips.

  She held her hand back, trying to hide her smile. “Ev, it’s big. Really big.”

  “The bigger, the better, right?” he asked, nuzzling her neck.

  “Not in my line of work.”

  “I beg to differ. How the hell are your male clients gonna know you’re taken unless we advertise it?”

  She laughed as she stood on her toes and looped her arms around his neck. “I think they’ll figure it out when I change my name, don’t you?”

  He grinned. “Dr. Erika Spencer. God, I love the way that sounds.”

  “It does have a nice ring to it…” She tipped her head back, a mischievous glint in her eyes. “Unless of course I decide to keep my own name, for professional reasons.”

  “Like hell you will,” he growled. He wanted the entire world to know she was his wife.

  She giggled, smacking his shoulder. “I’m just teasing.”

  “Speakin’ of teasin’,” he said, sliding one of the thin silk straps off her shoulder. “I’m surprised I was able to string two words together with you standin’ there lookin’ so damn sexy.”

  She rolled her head back, inviting his exploration. “It’s not like I was expecting company.”

  “You better not have been. This…” he said, sliding the silk down over her curves, “is for my eyes only.”

  A soft moan escaped her lips when he bent his knees, skimming his lips over her breasts. “Ev…”

  He scooped her up, carrying her down the hall towards the bedrooms.

  Chloe looked up from her comfy cushion at the foot of the bed when they entered the room.

  Setting Erika down on the mattress, Evan grabbed Chloe’s favorite stuffed teddy bear and tossed it out in the hall, closing the door firmly behind her when she thought he was inviting her to play catch.

  “She’s gonna make you pay for that,” Erika said, smirking, as she leaned on her elbows and watched him strip down to a pair of dark gray boxer briefs.

  “I love her, but I don’t think we need an audience, do we?”

  She couldn’t respond as she watched the last scrap of cotton fall to the floor.

  Evan grinned when a soft sigh escaped her lips. “You like, baby?”

  “I love…” Her eyes scanned his body hungrily. “Everything about you.”

  “Same goes,” he said, dropping kisses all the way up her body until their lips finally met. With his mouth hovering just above hers, he said, “And I don’t ever intend to let you forget it.” He didn’t give her a chance to respond before kissing her. There was no need; he knew his actions would speak louder than his words ever could.

  She opened her legs, silently beckoning him to a temptation he’d always been powerless to resist. “Make love to me,” she whispered, her eyes fixed on his.

  As he slid into her, savoring ever second of their connection, he thought about the hundreds of times they’d made love over the years and how different it felt now that he could rest easy in the knowledge that she wasn’t going anywhere. He’d wake up with her in the morning, fall asleep with her in his arms at night… He couldn’t wait for the next phase of their lives to begin.

  His thoughts slipped away as he allowed their bodies to engage in the familiar ritual of give and take. Kissing her passionately wasn’t enough as his body scaled the crest and all of his thoughts became centered on their mutual satisfaction. It may have been minutes or hours, he couldn’t tell, but every swipe of their tongues, every tight, slick slide in and out of her body brought him closer to the razor’s edge of sanity where the only thing that mattered was that elusive release his body sought.

  She cried out, his name on her lips, as her body shuddered beneath his.

  Once he felt the impact of her surrender move through his body, he couldn’t beg, borrow, or buy another second. His body raced to the finish line and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it.

  A guttural moan moved through him, finally falling from his lips as she clenched him inside of her, forcing him to ride out every last tremor in the safety of her arms. “Jesus,” he whispered, trying to support his body on shaking arms so he wouldn’t crush her. “You tryin’ to kill me before we get to take our vows, girl?”

  She grinned, looking pleased with herself. “I just wanted to give you a taste of what you can expect when I become your wife.”

  He chuckled as he summoned the strength to roll over to his side of the bed. “Damn. If that’s the case, I may die young, but what a way to go.”

  She threw her leg over his, stretching her arm over his chest. “Don’t even joke about that,” she said, looking up at him. “I expect you to be around long enough to dance with me at our grandchildren’s weddings.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” He settled her head on his chest as he ran his hand through her hair. “Let’s talk details,” he said. Now that she had agreed to be his wife, he didn’t want to waste one more minute. “Startin’ with the date.”

  Erika laughed as she stretched her hand out to admire her ring in the dim light. “We just got engaged and you already want to set a date for the wedding?”

  “Sure. Why not?”

  “These things take time to plan. We can’t just decide to snap our fingers and make it happen.”

  If she believed that, she didn’t know him as well as he thought she did. He would give her the wedding of her dreams on the date of her choosing. All she had to do was say the words and he would make her fantasy their reality. “You wanna bet?”

  She tipped her head back to look at him, a smile hovering on her lips. “Is this the part where my rich and powerful fiancée starts throwing his weight around?”

  “Damn straight. What’s the use of havin’ money if you can’t use it to make your woman happy?”

  She reached up to kiss him, her eyes glowing with emotion. “I love you. I love that you would do anything to make me happy.”

  He sensed she needed to say more. “But?”

  She shook her head. “No buts. I was scared at first, when I realized you’d made all of these changes for me, but then I thought about Liam and Alisa.”

  “What about them?”

  “He turned his life upside down for her. I mean, he moved here, gave up his business…”

  “He didn’t exactly give it up. He just started delegatin’ more, not only for the sake of their relationship, but also for his health. Not to mention his sanity. You think my schedule is crazy, but he was literally travelin’ all over the world year after year. That’s gotta takes its toll after a while.”

  “Yeah, and I bet he hasn’t regretted his decision for a single second. I mean, anyone can see how much he loves being a husband and father.”

  Evan couldn’t deny his cousin and her husband seemed to have found the secret to a successful marriage. “I can’t argue with that.” His hand drifted down her back. “Now, back to us. I believe we were talkin’ about weddin’ dates.”

  “Um, I don’t know,” she said, sliding her hand over his chest. “Maybe we should wait until Ryan and Brianna have set a date. They got engaged first. I don’t want to steal their thunder.”

  Evan knew she was right, but he didn’t want to be reasonable. He wanted to marry her, and tomorrow wouldn’t be soon enough. “Fine,” he said, kissing the top of her head. “But if my brother drags his feet settin’ a date, all bets are off.”

  She giggled before kissing his chest. “Deal.”

  Chapter
Nineteen

  Erika walked in to the decked out ballroom on her fiancée’s arm, feeling that all was finally right in her world. The fundraiser was a sell-out, they’d lined up an impressive line-up of artists to entertain the crowd, and she and Evan had never been closer.

  They’d had no choice but to share their news with close friends and family. She’d suggested waiting to wear her engagement ring in public until the excitement surrounding Brianna and Ryan’s engagement dimmed, but Evan shot that idea down without a second thought. He claimed he wanted the world to know they were engaged, and given the rough road they’d traveled, she couldn’t argue.

  They greeted guests and mingled with the crowd before finally taking their seats at the head table. The only thing that would have made it more perfect was having her parents in attendance. Unfortunately, her father was down with the flu, so they had to back out at the last minute.

  Luckily, she was still surrounded by family, Evan’s family, on this special night. After devoting most of her free time to this cause for the past decade, seeing so many people show up in support of a cause that meant so much to her was rewarding.

  She exchanged hugs with Luc, Marisa, Ryan, Brianna, Trey, Sierra, Liam, and Alisa before claiming their seats at the same table.

  “I can’t tell you how happy I am for both of my sons,” Marisa said, smiling at Brianna and Erika. “After so many years of playing the field, I was beginning to wonder if they were ever gonna settle down.”

  Evan set his napkin in his lap before gesturing toward his brother. “This one may have been out playin’ the field. I was-”

  “Busy working, we know,” Marisa said, winking at Erika. “I’m just glad you finally realized there’s more to life than work.”

  “Amen to that,” Liam said, putting his arm around his wife.

  “Easy to say when you’re a billionaire,” Evan muttered.

  “I heard that,” Liam said, laughing. “Trust me, buddy, all the money in the world isn’t gonna help fill that void.” He looked from Evan to his fiancé. “But I don’t have to tell you that, do I?”

  “No, I figured that out the hard way,” Evan said, setting his hand on Erika’s thigh. Raising his right hand, he said, “With y’all as my witnesses, I swear to never make that mistake again.”

  “You won’t be able to,” Ryan said, laughing. “I gave the security guards strict instructions to kick you out of the building, using bodily force, if you’re still sittin’ behind your desk come seven o’clock. And you’re not allowed to set foot inside that buildin’ on a weekend. No matter what.”

  Since Ryan was seated beside her, Erika could reach over and kiss his cheek. “I just knew you were gonna be the best brother-in-law ever.”

  Before Ryan could respond, the party planner Evan had hired approached their table.

  Courtney looked at the group and smiled. “Does Titan Records know how to throw a party or what?”

  Luc smiled. “You say that like this is somethin’ new. Our parties have always been legendary, sugar.”

  “Can’t argue with that,” Courtney said, winking at him. Her smile slipped when her eyes landed on Erika’s left hand. “Well, am I to assume congratulations are in order?”

  “Yeah,” Evan said, looking uneasy. “I was gonna tell you yesterday, but things got a little hectic at the office.”

  Ryan and Brianna exchanged a look Erika couldn’t decipher, making her feel uncomfortable. Did they know something she didn’t? If so, why were they keeping her in the dark?

  “Congratulations,” Courtney said. Her smile was a little too bright, and when she glanced at Evan, a flicker of sadness made her displeasure obvious. “Excuse me, I need to have a word with Ty about the line-up for tonight.”

  She rushed off and Evan watched her clear the front doors before he said, “Excuse me, I’ll be right back.”

  ***

  Evan found Courtney standing outside, shivering. “Hey, what’re you doin’ out here?” he asked, slipping his jacket off and setting it around her shoulders.

  “I just needed a minute,” she said. “Your news kind of caught me off guard.”

  “I’m sorry,” he said, putting his arm around her. He pulled her into the shadows and away from the front door as the smokers in the group were coming and going, giving them limited privacy. “I know I should have told you, but it all happened kind of fast. I mean, I wasn’t plannin’ on proposin’. It just kind of happened.”

  “It just kind of happened?”

  She angled her head back to look him in the eye, and he saw the tears, making him feel like a parasite for not making time to tell her about his plans to marry Erika. They had never been exclusive and he had never promised her anything more than a good time, but they were sleeping together up until a month ago. He owed it to her to tell her the truth in private, instead of asking her to hide her reaction in front of his fiancé and family.

  “Kind of like sleepin’ with me just happened?”

  The door was opening and closing repeatedly, and even though they stood behind a trellis of ivy, he knew passersby would be able to hear their exchange. “Keep your voice down,” he said through gritted teeth, positioning his body so she was further away from the door. “I don’t need the whole world to know our business.”

  “So you didn’t tell her you’ve been sleeping with me for the past year?” she asked, pulling his jacket tighter when a shudder moved through her.

  “It hasn’t been a year.”

  “Damn near,” she said, glaring at him. “Y’all hadn’t been apart a month when you ended up back at my place after Titan’s holiday party.”

  “Things just…” He wanted to tell her he’d still been reeling from the break-up and he was lonely, which was why he hadn’t shut her down when she propositioned him, but he knew that would be like rubbing salt in the wound, so he bit his tongue. “Got out of hand. We’d both been drinkin’…”

  “That doesn’t explain why you’ve slept with me dozens of times since then, does it?” she asked, raising her voice.

  When he realized asking her for discretion was pointless, he grabbed her arm and led her further away from the door. “Look, I told you I wasn’t interested in a relationship, Courtney. You were seein’ other guys. It’s not like we were exclusive.”

  “I may have been seeing other men, but you were the only one I was sleeping with.” She brushed away the tear rolling down her cheek. “I thought when you finally got over her…” She said, inclining her head toward the building, “That you’d come to your senses and realize you and I could be really great together.” She took a step forward, framing his face with her hands. “I get you in a way she never will, Evan. I know how important your business is to you, and I love and respect you for that. I would never ask you to become someone you’re not just to make me happy. Can’t you see how selfish she is? She wants it all… on her terms. What has she had to give up? Nothing. You’re the one who’s made all the sacrifices and she’s-”

  “Stop,” he said, pressing his fingertip against her lips. “I don’t want to do this. I think you’re a great girl, Court. We had a lot of fun together and I don’t regret a minute we spent together, but I’m gonna marry Erika.”

  “Why?” she asked, looking up at him. “Just tell me why.”

  “I love her.”

  “I don’t believe you. You told me yourself not too long ago that you didn’t know what the hell happened to the girl you fell in love with. You said yourself she wasn’t that woman when y’all broke up.”

  He had said that in a moment of anger and frustration. The last months of their relationship had been plagued with anger and bitterness to the point where he almost didn’t recognize Erika anymore. But he knew he was to blame for that, not her.

  “Look, I don’t want to talk about this anymore.” He placed his hands over hers, gently removing her hands from his face. “You know where I stand, what my plans are. I’m sorry if it took you by surprise and I know I should have told
you so you didn’t have to find out that way, but…”

  “Is this the part where you ask me to be happy for you?” she asked, crossing her arms. “Am I supposed to be the supportive friend now and pretend the last year never happened? You want me to tell you I’m fine with it, that I don’t care what you do? Well I’m sorry, I can’t do that.” She started crying in earnest. “I was falling in love with you and I know you felt something too. I could feel it when you made love to me. It wasn’t just sex. I know it wasn’t.”

  Evan pulled her into his arms and let her cry on his shoulder. He hated hurting people and his long-term relationship with Erika meant he hadn’t broken very many hearts in recent years, but there was no question Courtney’s feelings for him ran deeper than he realized.

  “I’m sorry,” he said, stroking her hair. “I should never have let things go this far.” In hindsight, he should never have slept with her at all, but she was an attractive woman and he was tired of falling asleep alone, dreaming about Erika.

  “No regrets,” she said, sniffling as she pulled away from him. “Remember what you said, no regrets.” She passed his jacket back to him and he watched her walk inside, her head held high.

  “Damn it,” he muttered, wishing he could turn back time. Given the chance to do it all over again, he never would have slept with her. The last thing he wanted was to hurt someone else the way he’d been hurting without Erika this past year.

  He scanned the ballroom looking for Courtney, but deduced she must have slipped in to the restroom to repair her make-up before facing their guests. Heading toward their table, he noticed Erika’s chair was empty. The last thing he needed was for the two ladies to cross paths in the restroom. In Courtney’s state, he had no idea what she might say.

  “Hey, where’s Erika?” he asked, standing behind her vacant chair.

  “Didn’t you see her?” Trey asked. “She went lookin’ for you about ten minutes ago.”

  “What do you mean? Where’d she go?”